


Language

by Kariachi



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Gen, Kevin has Feelings about the shit people pull, Osmosians Exist, and is in a better spot to know about and understand them than the tennysons, no matter how the show likes to treat them as wildlife, the main theme, your regular reminder that vulpimancers are a sentient species
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 03:05:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14865401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kariachi/pseuds/Kariachi
Summary: An off-hand comment leads the Tennysons to a crash course in interspecies relations and ongoing prejudices.





	Language

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the canon history and status of the planet Vulpin and a conversation on tumblr about said.

“Kinda wish Wildmutt could talk.”

“Can.” The Tennysons both stopped what they were doing- which admittedly hadn’t been much- to stare at the back-half of Kevin.

“Seriously?” They could practically hear him roll his eyes. He didn’t even bother to look up as he scoffed, instead continuing his tinkering.

“They aren’t in the Omnitrix for their good looks. They’re sentient creatures with their own culture and language, just like any other.” Gwen tilted her head to one side.

“Then why haven’t-”

“The mouth shape and vocal cords make speaking a lot of languages difficult or impossible. Argit’s vocal cords are much more malleable and he still seriously struggles with English.” For a few minutes the cousins rolled this new information around in their heads before Ben shook his head.

“No, because the Omnitrix has a universal translator, it would’ve picked up _something_.”

“Here’s a tip for you-” one hand, clenching a wrench, came out from under the hood to emphasis words with gestures- “one of the first things done when young species are discovered is their most common languages are added to the translators, so if you meet an alien- especially out in the galaxy- and their words don’t get picked up, it’s because somebody chose to leave them out. Generally due to politics, money, bigotry, or all of the above. Vulpin was used as a ‘penal colony’ for around a century before the Null Void was created and took over the job, and a lot of planets use it as a dump for everything from general garbage to toxic waste. Keeping their language untranslated makes it easier to gloss over them.” The Tennysons didn’t respond, eyes wide in horror at the thought, but now their history buff was on a roll and certainly wouldn’t stop.

“Not to say they aren’t in translators, they produce translators that include their language and there’s a handful of species that refuse to use translators that don’t. Ossys and Erinaens- that’s be Argit and Pierce’s species- for instance, their governments provide translators and only purchase them from Vulpin. Which isn’t surprising because our languages only got put in most translators seven-hundred-thirty…two years ago by Earth time. Only two years after meeting the rest of the galaxy for the Erinaens, but for us, we’d been a free species for over a _millennium_! And Osmosians live long enough, that’s only four, five generations we’ve been in the damn things.”

“Anyway, yeah, that’s a thing that happens. Mostly to species that don’t fit the right ‘template’- normally bipedal vertebrates, though sometimes you get nonvertebrates, with a similar set of facial expressions and body language, whose selves or cultures aren’t creepy or off-putting- or to species who either are more useful as property or are considered an obstacle to something other species want. Vulpimancers don’t fit the template even a little, and it’s easier to get away with dumping your waste on a ‘lifeless ball of ice’, so fuck ‘em apparently. Because it doesn’t matter where you go, capitalism is a _bitch_ and people are _fucking shitholes_.”

The garage went quiet but for Kevin’s continued growling as he pulled his hand back to him and set back to work on the engine. After a minute or two of uncomfortable glances with her cousin, fidgeting on the couch, and listening to Kevin snarl things under his breath that they couldn’t understand- which given what they’d just learned only made things worse- Gwen stood up and headed for the door.

“I am going to grab you a beer.”

“Thank you.”

“Ben, you need anything?”

“Soda would be good, thanks.” Ben stared after her when she left, mulling things over in his brain. There was nothing quite like Kevin to make sure he remembered just how bad things could be in the galaxy, and unlike a good number of adults he refused to pull punches when it came to making sure the younger teens knew _exactly_ where the divides were out there. He chewed his inner cheek, a feast of questions in his mind, before settling on one.

“Kev? Does that have any relation to why people aren’t welcome in the Anur System?” He’d swear he jumped about three feet at the crash from Kevin suddenly slamming shut the hood of his Dodge, an expression on his face somewhere between ‘I have gossip’ and ‘Who put this bullshit on the History Channel?!’

“Benji, you will not _believe_ the shit that started that-!”


End file.
